“My turn.”
Justice thrust into her fast and hard, not holding back anything and she wrapped around him. Her legs hooked over his ass, her arms wound around his neck. Their bodies moved together perfectly as he thrust inside her, hitting every nerve ending that screamed for release. He drove into her deeper, more forcefully and adjusted his cock to hit a spot that made her cry out his name.
Pleasure crashed through her as Justice moved faster and harder. She screamed his name as the climax hit. Justice threw back his head and a roar tore from his throat. Their bodies jerked and locked together. Jessie relaxed as the last twinge of pleasure washed through her and Justice’s body draped over hers.
“You’re my mate,” Justice whispered against her ear, brushing a kiss on her throat.
“Thank God,” she whispered back.
Justice chuckled. “There is one thing I would like to tell you.” He lifted his head to make her look him.
“What is it?”
“We discovered it’s possible for us to have children when a human became pregnant by one of our males. Their healthy, strong baby was born weeks ago.” He cupped her face. “The baby is Species, has our facial traits and resembles his father. I want to have a child with you. Will you think about it?”
Shock hit her—not that they could have kids, something that she already knew but wasn’t supposed to, thanks to Breeze trusting her. It was the fact that Justice wanted to have a child with her. He’d gone from fighting them being together to asking her to be the mother of his unborn children. It was a fast switch.
Justice rolled them on their sides, opened a little space between their bodies and cupped her stomach. “I want you to swell with my child and I want you bound to me in every way possible.” He stared deeply into her eyes. “I want to do everything to bind you to me in every way. You make me happy.” He smiled. “You make my life complete.”
Tears filled Jessie’s eyes. “You are so good with words.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
She laughed and wiped her tears away. “It means I’d love to have a baby with you though I’d like to wait a year at least. I want time with you first and you need to take more time off work before we have one. I want us to raise our child or children together, not just me raising our baby while you’re gone at work.”
“I’m your mate. We’ll do everything together.”
“Honey, you’re a workaholic.” She licked her lips. “My dad is one and he wasn’t around for me much when I was a kid. My worst fear was growing up and marrying someone like him. Ironic, isn’t it? You make him look downright lazy when it comes to the hours you put in but I’m an adult. I get why you work so hard but kids don’t understand how important your job is. They just feel abandoned and like they come in second. Do you understand? You need to learn how to relax more before we become parents.”
“I’m going to hand over some duties to the council and that will free up a lot of my time. I can wait a year and you’ll see that we will have lots of time together. I can relax and you’re going to teach me how. I had no life but being the face of my people. That’s all changed now, Jessie. I love them but you’re my number-one priority.” His gaze narrowed. “You’re my mate. You come first before all others. I will step down in the morning to show you how much you mean to me. I love you and you’re everything to me.”
She knew he meant it and her love for him grew stronger. “I don’t want you to quit but I do want you to work less hours. What you do is so important and I don’t want to change who you are. You’re the man I want to be with. I just ask for more of your time. Getting help from your council sounds ideal.”
He smiled. “Done. I would like to have more than one child. I would like to keep you pregnant and I could do it.”
“We’ll talk numbers after we have our first one.”
He looked hopeful. “But at least two?”
“I love you with my entire heart and you make me happy too.” She grinned. “When you’re not pissing me off but I still love you more than I want to kill you. You make my life complete too.”
“I was told this next thing is good news. When I get you pregnant what is the worst thing about being pregnant?”
“Getting fat.”
He laughed. “Second worst thing?”
“Morning sickness.”
“How about nine months of being pregnant?”
“Yeah. That sounds like a pain but it’s worth it.”
Justice suddenly rolled onto Jessie and pinned her under him. “It’s a Species baby you will carry, Jessie. The first baby was born in twenty weeks, healthy and at full term. We heal faster than you and we were designed different. It seems our babies develop faster than yours do. The second human mother-to-be is experiencing the same accelerated pregnancy. We think twenty weeks is the pregnancy length.” His gaze searched hers. “Would you still carry my child?”
Jessie was stunned. Five months? Justice rolled away and sat up.
“It is too much, isn’t it? Are you afraid now to consider having my child?”
Jessie rolled onto her side and propped her head on her bent arm. “No. I’m just trying to process this news. It’s stunning.”
“Are you repulsed?”
“No. Never. I’d love to carry our baby inside me and it’s kind of cool. Hell, I could almost have two of our children in the time it takes my kind to have one baby.”
He looked relieved. “So you are agreeing to have at least two. Good.”
She inched closer, reached out and rubbed his thigh. “So, any other surprises to throw at me?”
“The doctors have helped Fury’s mate, Ellie, get pregnant. She had something called a blocked tube but now they are having a baby. We’re planning to move them to Reservation to hide that when she begins to show more. We can’t allow your people find out yet. We don’t think they are ready to learn of us having children and are worried they will react badly if they knew Species babies exist. Our child won’t be alone.”
Jessie nodded. “We’re going to have to open a school for our children before they are old enough to need one. We sure can’t send them to public schools outside the gates. They’d be in too much danger.”
Justice covered her hand to hold it. “My mate is smart. What other things are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we will need to practice getting pregnant. We want to do it right.”
He glanced at her and growled. In seconds he had flipped her over and yanked her to her hands and knees. He entered her gently, fucking her deeply and Jessie moaned. Justice thrust into her slowly and steadily until she nearly came. He paused when she was right on the edge.
She turned her head. “Don’t stop.”
“You have complaints? I need practice?”
He suddenly thrust in hard and fast, curled around her back and his teeth gripped her shoulder. One of his hands left the bed and his finger strummed her clit.
Jessie came screaming and Justice roared his own pleasure from behind her. They collapsed on the bed side by side, still connected and Jessie laughed once she caught her breath. Sometimes him not understanding what she was trying to say wouldn’t be a bad thing. He’d mistaken her joke for a complaint. Justice nipped her shoulder and she jerked from the jolt of pleasure. It sent a pulse straight to her clit, reminding her how sensitive it currently was.
His teeth released her. “How was that?”
She turned her head to look into his smug gaze. “It’s a human joke. Sorry. I love the way you take me, Justice. You don’t do a thing wrong. It’s just a saying. It means we should have lots more sex so they say to ‘practice getting pregnant’ as a joke.”
He chuckled. “I see.”
“But I’ll be sure to say that again. When I do could you forget you know what it really means? I liked this a hell of a lot.”
“So you want a lot more sex?”
“I always want you.”
He grinned. “We were designed for endurance a
nd strength. Do you know what else?”
“You’re wildly handsome and have the best body I’ve ever seen in my entire life and it makes me want to drool when you take off your clothes?”
He kissed her. “Besides that.”
“What?”
“Our recovery time. You want more sex?” He moved inside her slowly. “Did you ever wonder why I always pull out of you after sex? I don’t soften if I’m inside you. As long as I’m in you I can go for hours.”
Jessie moaned.
“This time we’re going slow.”
She shook her head. “That’s torture.”
Justice secured her there while he kept moving inside her. His other hand roamed her belly, her breasts and played with her nipples.
“You’re going to love it. I’m going to keep moving in you slowly and steadily while I touch you all over. It’s another talent of mine.”
“You’re going to kill me.”
“No. I’m just giving you what you want.”
“Faster.”
“You’re so impatient.” His hand left her breast to roam down her stomach and he used his legs to spread her thighs wider apart, pinning them open to touch her exposed clit with taps of his fingertip. “Slow and steady, Jessie.”
Jessie almost climaxed from the sensation of the gentle beat that he tattooed over the bundle of nerves. He thrust in slowly, keeping time as he played with her body.
“Do you really love me, Jessie?”
“Yes!”
He stopped tapping on her, his hand twisted and his finger and thumb pinched her clit gently, tugging a little and rubbed. He drove into her steadily but shifted his hips, thrusting into her deeper. In seconds Jessie was screaming his name as she came. Justice threw his head back, arched his spine and roared as he came, filling her with his warm release.
Long minutes later Jessie opened her eyes and twisted her head to smile at Justice. “Maybe slow is nice.”
“Nice?” He grinned and arched his eyebrows. “That was just nice?”
“That was amazing.”
Justice slowly withdrew from her body and rolled them to their sides, spooning against her back. “I don’t want to make you sore. I’ll amaze you more later when you’ve had some rest.”
“I love you.”
Justice kissed the curve of her shoulder. “I love you too, Jessie. Go to sleep. I want to hold you all night.” He reached back and managed to turn off the light on the nightstand.
Jessie curled into him and closed her eyes. She was marrying Justice and he said she was his mate. The sensation of being in his arms, in his bed, was the most right thing she’d ever felt.
Justice heard Jessie’s breathing change and knew his mate slept. He pulled her a little tighter against his body, curved his legs to draw her closer and breathed in her alluring feminine scent. She was his forever and he wasn’t alone anymore. She was his other half, the softer side he’d never have without her and also his biggest weakness.
He searched his feelings, worried he might resent having that new flaw in his formerly impenetrable armor but instead only felt a sense of peace. There would be hell to pay in the morning when he had to deal with the fallout of publicly claiming her but none of that mattered. Jessie was worth taking on the world if that’s what it came down to.
Her father would be upset, probably withdraw his support but he’d find a way to handle that. He’d make sure she remained safe. He’d protect her at all costs and if the danger became too great, he’d step down from his position. They could move to Reservation inside the Wild Zone near Valiant and Tammy. Construction was progressing on his home by the lake, intended as a retreat from the pressures of his life but it could become their full-time home. He’d have his own personal army of near-feral Species to help him keep all danger away from his mate.
He pictured leaving his suits behind for a loincloth, something that some of the males there had reverted to, and grinned. He could possibly talk Jessie into wearing little. They could play all day and all he’d have to concentrate on would be loving her. Things suddenly didn’t seem so grim when he pictured their future.
He relaxed and closed his eyes, holding her tightly and knew one way or another it would work out. He wouldn’t accept anything less. He had Jessie and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Twenty
Justice awoke to a strange, faint noise, something unfamiliar, and opened his eyes. Jessie remained tucked securely in front of him, their bodies still pressed tightly together and she breathed slowly and steadily, sleeping. Whatever had disturbed his sleep hadn’t been her. He listened, putting his senses on alert and picked up the sound of a vehicle approaching.
He turned his head, glanced at the clock and realized there were a few hours before the sun rose. No one should be driving near his home at that time. Security patrolled the grounds but stayed far from his house the way he’d ordered them to do after he’d chewed them out for invading his privacy every time he roared. He carefully eased his hold on his mate and slid from the bed without waking her.
He rushed out of his room, down the hallway and into the living room. The lights were still on from when he’d brought Jessie home so he dashed into his dark office, moved to the front window and shifted the curtain slightly to peer outside. An SUV pulled over and parked down the hill a little, past Tiger’s home, in the empty lot next to Jessie’s old home, and the engine died.
His heart raced. Something was wrong. They hadn’t had the headlights on before they parked and no interior lights came on when the four doors opened. All the NSO vehicles had fully working equipment and that included lights. Someone had removed them to make sure they failed. The five dark figures emerged and left the doors wide open. The only reason to do that was to avoid noise.
His gaze narrowed, fixed on the five. He realized they wore all black from head to foot. Their faces were either covered with dark masks or had been painted to disguise their features. They approached the house next door where Jessie had lived. He studied them long enough to notice the way they moved and used too-familiar hand signals to communicate. They were going to divide up and surround something or someone.
Justice fled the office to rush down the hallway to one of the spare bedrooms where he had a better view after they moved out of sight. He saw one dark figure leap over the gate that led from the front to the backyard of the cottage next door. It was clear their target had to be Jessie.
Rage flashed through every fiber of his body. He dropped the curtain, backed away and yanked up the phone on the nightstand. He punched in Tiger’s home number, his mind plotting what to do. It rang until the machine picked it up. He hung up and dialed his cell phone. It rang three times.
“It’s four-thirty in the morning,” Tiger growled, a little out of breath. “This better be really good to disturb me when I’m busy.”
“Five of our males surrounded Jessie’s cottage. They came in stealthily, dressed to hide their presence, which means they plan to attack,” Justice growled. “Call males you trust and get to my house. Move. They obviously don’t approve of my choice in mates.”
“Son of a bitch,” Tiger snarled. “I’m not at home. I’m at the women’s dorm. I’ll grab some of the males still here and we’re coming. Don’t engage them until we arrive. You’re outnumbered.”
Justice hung up and dialed the gate shack next. It rang six times, no one answered and he clenched his teeth. Either the officer on duty was in on it or the five males next door had done something to him. He had no immediate backup. Justice ran back toward his bedroom.
He reached the bed and lunged for Jessie. One of his hands clamped over her mouth while his other one gripped her hip. He dragged her body from the center of the bed to the side of it, lifted her off the mattress completely and Jessie gasped against his palm. He leaned down to hiss in her ear before she had time to struggle, “Five Species are at your house. Be quiet, get dressed and stay at my side. I can see in the dark well enough to lead you.”
>
Jessie nodded in understanding. He eased his hand from her mouth, lowered her until her feet took her weight and snagged her arm. The closet was close. He opened the door and pulled her inside. The door closed and he flipped on the inner light, momentarily blinding them both.
Jessie grimly studied him with her beautiful blue eyes and pride surfaced that his mate seemed so calm. She wasn’t wasting time battering him with questions or reacting with hysterics to what he’d said. He released her, grabbed a shirt and thrust it at her. He tore open a drawer, got them both boxers and dressed next to her in the tight space.
“You said five?” she whispered as she rolled the waist of her borrowed boxers.
“Yes. Species, and I assume they are male.”
“Shit.”
He couldn’t agree more. He allowed his anger to take control and he knew blood would be spilled if the males realized she wasn’t home and dared come to his house to search for her. It would be death for them without question. He’d kill or die to protect his mate.
He wanted to flee with her but there could be more of them out there waiting, coming on foot. Inside the house he at least could hold ground until Tiger arrived with reinforcements. He pushed back shock that his own people had come after his mate. It was horrifying and something he’d never considered.
Jessie tried to hide her terror as she yanked on the shirt Justice had given her. She didn’t care if was inside out or on backward. The information he’d shared barely registered in her sleep-fogged brain but they were in deep shit, he’d said they were Species and that had to be pretty bad. They wanted her.
She watched Justice face the back of his closet, grab the hanger bar filled with his suits and yank the entire thing out. He released it, everything hit the floor and he pushed on the wall near the top, his fingertips searching for something. There was a click and it sprang open on one side. He grabbed it and the hidden cabinet door opened.